Milking machine



Patented May 18, 1954 UNITED STATES ildTENT OFFICE England, assignor toGascoignes (Reading) Ltd., Reading, England, a British companyApplication June 19, 1952, Serial No. 294,322

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 28, 1951 2 Claims.

This invention relates to milking machines. Portable milking machinesare known in which a wheeled chassis supports vacuum-producing means anda main vacuum pipe in the form of a swinging arm, which latter carries amilk receiver, a teat cup cluster, a pulsator and the necessary tubesfor interconnecting these components in such a manner that they couldall be swung together in relation to the chassis of the machine.

The present invention is concerned with portable milking machines of thesame general arrangement as described above, except that thevacuum-producing means need not be carried by these improved portablemachines.

The main object of the present invention is to provide improved mobilemilking machines suitable for transporting a small number of milk cans,provision being made for the yield from each cow to be weighedautomatically and the rate of milking watched as the milking operationproceeds.

By way of example, an embodiment of the invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 are a part-sectional side elevation and an end elevationrespectively of a single post double-arm mobile milking machine.

In the construction of a portable milking machine illustrated there isprovided a trolley I comprising a wheeled framework consisting of twoside fences 2 braced by a transverse rigid stay 3 located midway of theframework. This transverse stay 3 serves to hold erect a tubular post Asituated at the centre of a low-level platform 5, the lower end of thepost 4 being received in a socket 6 upstanding from the platform 5. Thetwo top corners of each of the side fences l, 2 are fashioned to formhandles 1 to facilitate pushing the trolley I along on a pair of groundwheels 8 mounted, for preference and as shown, in transverse alignmentwith the central post 3. Additional wheels or castors may be mountedunder the platform near the opposite ends thereof, one such castor 9being shown. At one end, as shown or at both ends of the trolley l a rodI!) loaded by a spring ll may be mounted for sliding movement in asubstantially vertical direction so that the rod is urged toward contactwith the ground and may be used to brake or anchor the trolley in arequired position, any suitable catch arrangement being provided to holdthe rod in an elevated position during transit. A hinged flap l2strutable in a horizontal position for supporting a log book or the likeis provided on one of the side fences 2.

The central post 4, which may be of telescopic form, carries on itsupper part a rigid open frame i3 which is fixed to said post 4 to lie ina foreand-aft plane, coincident with the longitudinal axis of thetrolley I, said frame l3 comprising upper and lower horizontal rails I4,15 respectively, interconnected by end pillars it. On the lower end ofeach of these end pillars It is swivelly or pivotally connected theinner end of a rigid arm I! which slopes upwardly from its swivel orpivot [8 so as to bring the outer end of the arm I! to approximately thesame level or even higher than the upper rail [4 of the frame 13 carriedby the central post 4 of the trolley I. On the outer end of each arm I!is mounted a pneumatic pulsator Is to which is connected by milk andsuction pipelines 20 a teat-cup cluster 2! which is adapted to besuspended when not in use from a hook 22 provided near the outer end ofthe arm 11. A rod or wire stay 23 extends between the outer end of thearm l1 and the upper end of the pillar IE on the lower end of which saidarm is swivelly or pivotally mounted, the said arm l1, pillar I6 andstay 23 forming the sides of a triangle. In order to conserve space andto afford rigidity to the swivelling or pivoting arms I! when themachine is stowed or while it is travelling each arm I! with its stay 23may be swung round in relation to the pillar l6 so as to lie flatlyalongside of the frame 13.

On the lower rail 15 of the frame [3 are mounted two weighing appliances24 having large vertically disposed indicating dials, one weighingappliance in each of the halves of the frame opening which is bisectedby the upper end of the central post 4, the dials lying in or parallelto the plane of the frame IS. A milk receiver 25 is suspended from eachweighing appliance 24' and receives milk from the teat cup cluster 2!via the pulsator [9 through a flexible pipeline 26 extending alongsideof and carried by the adjacent arm l1. Milk from the receiver can flowby gravity with or without the aid of vacuum into a milk can 21 placedon one end of the platform 5 below the milk receiver 25. Each teat cupcluster 2! and its pulsator l9 are preferably connected to a source ofvacuum, via the interiors of the arms and of the associated pillar,which are of tubular form through flexible conduits 28, or rigidconduits, extending from the pillar IE to the central post 4, also oftubular form and thence through a trailing pipeline 4A adapted fortemporary connection in any suitable manner to a suction main installedin the cow house, or to vacuum-producing equipment which may be mountedon the trolley I. The milk receivers 25 are also placed under suction bypipelines 30 which extend between the covers of the receivers and thehollow central post 4; the suction applied to the pipelines 39 can becut off or regulated by a vacuum control tap I30. The transfer of milkfrom the milk receivers 25 to the milk cans 27 is effected throughflexible nozzles 3| connected to detachable can heads 21A, said nozzles3| being provided with cut-off valves 32. Tap-controlled pipelines 3911connect the hollow post 4 to can heads 21A to place the milk cans 21under vacuum.

The pulsators l9 are provided with nozzles it! to which by-passconnections I 92, can be attached during a teat-cup cleaning operation.

The central location of the post which carries the arm-supporting frameprovides a well-balanced stable machine, so that the machine can bereadily propelled by hand. Moreover the height at which each radial armis supported makes it possible for a milk-yield weighing appliance witha large, vertically-disposed indicating dial and a milk receiversuspended therebelow to be mounted vertically above a milk can placed onthe trolley platform so that the milk can flow by gravity from the milkreceiver directly into the can. This arrangement leads to a furtheradvantage, namely, that two milk cans can be carried one on each end ofthe trolley platform in fore-and-aft alignment, with the centralframe-supporting post between the two churns and with one of theassociated milk receivers and weighing instruments above the front canand the other receiver and weighing instrument above the rear can. Inthis manner width of the trolley can be kept to a minimum consistentwith stability.

I claim:

1. A transportable pneumatic milking machine comprising a wheeledtrolley having a low-level platform; an upright post mounted on saidplatform in a substantially central position, a frame mounted on saidpost and lying substantially in a fore-and-aft plane, said frame havingparallel vertical end pillars; two arms swingably mounted one about theaxis of each of said frame pillars for swinging in a substantiallyhorizontal plane between extended working positions and out-ofusepositions in which the two arms lie along opposite sides of said frameand point in opposite directions; at least one teat cup cluster andpulsator assembly suspended from the outer end, of each arm; a milkreceiver operatively associated with each teat cup cluster and pulsatorassembly and suspended from the frame which supports said radial arms,to receive milk drawn from the teat cups, and deliver it to a milk canplaced on said platform; and a milk-yield indicating appliance mountedon said frame and connected to each milk receiver for indicating theyield of milk drawn by the associated teatcup cluster and delivered intothe milk receiver, each radial arm being swingable at a height aboveground level which allows the teat-cup clusters, when suspended on theouter ends of the radial arms in out-of-use positions, to pass over theback of a standing cow.

2. A milking machine according to claim 1, wherein space is provided onthe platform for two milk cans, one before and one behind the centralpost.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,221,483 Sharples Apr. 3, 191? 1,377,244 Tanner May 10, 19211,494,138 Shippert et al May 13, 192a 1,536,634 Shippert et al. May 5,1925 1,910,830 Hapgood May 23, 1933 2,287,506 Anderson June 23, 19422,292,849 Schmitt Aug. 11, 1942 2,595,539 Redman, Jr May 6, 19522,608,951 Kingston Sept. 2, 1952

